Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Spring Composting Tips

Are you as ready as I am to jump into spring? Warmer temperatures and more rain will make your compost
pile jump into action – if you follow these tips.

Moisture: Watch the moisture level of your pile. All of the spring
rain can add too much moisture if your pile doesn’thave good drainage. You want your pile to be as wet as a wrung out
sponge. Too much water will cause the pile to go anaerobic (a.k.a. stinky).

Aeration: Once temperatures warm up, aerate your pile. Food scraps
tend to accumulate over the long winter months since the pile is mostly
dormant. When your pile unfreezes all of those food scraps will start to
decompose at once. Aerating will keep that decomposition going and speed
it up.

Additions: Add weeds and plant trimmings to your pile. I always have
some old decorative grasses or sedums from last year to add.

Spring is a fantastic time to start a new compost pile or
maintain your old pile. Pretty soon you will want to harvest that finished
compost to start new beds and for early summer planting. Take advantage of your
ambitious spring gardening attitude to compost everything you can.

4 comments:

Hi! I was just invited to teach a composting workshop for Sayler Park Sustains on June 9th in Hamilton County. I'm a composting enthusiast but I've never taught a workshop on composting before so I googled Hamilton County composting and your blog was the first thing to pop up! Do you have any tips for teaching a composting workshop or want to join me as a co-teacher? I think we met in summer 2016 through either Sarah Waldo or Joanna Contorno when I first moved to Cincinnati. Thanks in advance for any feedback! Best wishes, Tammy

That's fantastic, JannaKate! I would recommend starting with a simple black plastic compost bin you can buy at any hardware/ home improvement store or online. In the past, Costco and Sam's have had pretty good prices. I have a SoilSaver but the brand is not as important as having 1) a locking lid 2) an open bottom to the ground below. Start with a few feet of leaves (preferably shredded) and always bury your food scraps. Good Luck!